Turkington pleased after 'great start' at Donington

Team BMW's Colin Turkington leaves Donington Park with an early points lead in the British Touring Car Championship standings following a strong weekend at the season opener.

The defending four-time champion scored a haul of 46-points during Sunday's three races, putting him six clear of Honda's Cammish in second and nine clear of Infiniti runner Ash Sutton in third.

Turkington began his weekend in the best way possible after clinching pole position ahead of race one. Although he was unable to convert his pole into a first win of the year in first race, the BMW 330i M Sport driver still finished in a strong second before romping home to a dominant win in race two.

Despite running 54 kilos of success during race two, Turkington's BMW 330i M Sport was untouchable at the head of the field and 38-year old paid testament to the gains made with the car when running with high ballast.

“It’s great to start the season with a win, another podium and a strong haul of points overall. The BMW was sweet in Race Two so I could drive it hard but not work the tyres too hard in the early stages," said Turkington.

"We’ve done a lot of work on dialing the car in with weight on-board and that was one of the keys to winning that one. I’m really pleased with my performance and the points.

"The preparation, hard work and dedication of the whole team has been incredible this past few months, so this is a great way to start for all of us.”